It’s pretty easy to find someone who will tell you how awesome cloth diapering is (like me!) but I feel like no one remembers to also give props to cloth wipes! All you need is rectangles of fabric (I buy mine pre-cut but you can make your own), water, baby shampoo, and an empty wipes container. I think these get Deagan’s bottom so much cleaner than disposable wipes, makes it so I can give him a sponge-like bath every night (I’m from the school of thought that daily baths unnecessarily dries out baby’s skin) and it’s green! Also I know exactly what is touching his bottom. This past summer, I ditched Johnson & Johnson at bath time for my oldest son shortly after finding out formaldehyde was one of the ingredients, and have since fallen in LOVE with Babo Botanicals…the scent is amazing! I haven’t had any luck finding Babo in stores, but you can purchase on drugstore.com. For wipes, my current favorites are BumGenius cotton flannel wipes, and cotton velor wipes.

This isn’t a unique “recipe” by any stretch of the imagination, but perhaps you haven’t thought about how simple cloth wipes truly are. In my diaper bag, I use the same water and baby shampoo mix in the perinatal bottle they gave me at the hospital and just squeeze some solution directly on the dry cloth.

Cloth Wipe Solution

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2-1 tsp baby shampoo (preferably organic or without harsh chemicals found in the more common products. I use Babo Botanicals and I feel a little goes a long way so I’m using closer to 1/2 tsp.)

1/2-3/4 cup water

30-35 rectangular pieces of cloth stacked like a deck of cards (you can purchase pre-made or cut your own from flannel or terry fabric, just be sure to finish the edges with stitching)

I stick to no more than 35 because you don’t want to have any issues with mold, but you don’t want to have to re-make every other day either. This amount gets me through about 5 days.

Container; I use an old disposable wipes one.

Some people use a wipes warmer but that’s when mold really can become a concern, so consider lessening the amount of wipes you’re making at a time.

Directions:

In container, mix water and shampoo together.

Hold the stack of wipes like you’re holding a big hamburger, and dip the top, bottom, and sides. I even will do a “mid-deck” cross-section to make sure the ones in the middle are absorbing the solution too.

Done!

If at any point throughout the week the wipes seem too dry, just add a little bit more water.